Empowering African Youth

Participants of the Educate! program.

May 23, 2018

Boris Bulayev and his organization Educate! are reforming the secondary education in Africa to equip young people with the skills necessary to break the cycle of poverty. Educate! partners with governments in East Africa to integrate this practical skills-based model into the national education system.

Leadership, entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness are the cornerstones of the trainings Educate! provides in secondary schools: 175 schools in Rwanda and over 700 schools in Uganda, reaching over 42,000 students intensively and 530,000 more broadly.

One of the 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Awards will go to Boris Bulayev Co-Founder and Executive Director of Educate! for his efforts to equip youth with key 21st century and employability skills. These skills help youth build confidence, discover their passion, and succeed in the challenging labor market they will face after school.

Co-Founder and Executive Director, Boris Bulayev.

“I am inspired by the power and potential of African youth to create change on a global level.”

Educate! partners with governments in East Africa to integrate this practical skills-based model in the national education system. Through the program, youth learn skills like problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork, grit, conflict resolution, and entrepreneurship. These skills not only enrich the students’ personal development, but also ensure that no matter what challenges they face in life, they will be better able to create their own opportunities, overcome obstacles, and manage risk.

Educate!’s vision for 2024 is to measurably impact 1 million students, and reach 4 million students more broadly, across Africa each year. The 2018 Klaus J. Jacobs Award will provide them with the opportunity to invest in further learning, testing, and iteration.

In 2018, the Jacobs Foundation bestows 10 awards to social innovators and change makers in the field of child and youth development. Each award will come with an amount of CHF 100’000. The recipients provide solutions for positive child and youth development at low cost, which are sustainable and can be easily implemented on the spot. What the ten awardees have in common is their wish for social change and their restless personal social engagement. They are beyond talking – they act.